Biographical History

Alice Mary Norton (1912-2005) was an award-winning American science fiction and fantasy
author, poet and editor.

Born and educated in Cleveland, Ohio, she began writing and editing at a young age,
producing her first novel (which became her second published book) while still in
high school. She attended Western Reserve University, although she never graduated
due to finances. She worked as assistant librarian and children's librarian at the
Cleveland Public Libraries from 1932-1950, working in 38 of their 40 branches, with
a brief interruption during World War II to work at the Library of Congress. She left
the Cleveland Public Libraries in 1950 to be a reader for Gnome Press, a science fiction
publishing house in Hicksville, Long Island, but by 1958 she had published 23 novels
and several short stories, and felt confident enough to devote her full time to freelance
writing.

Although best known as a science fiction writer under the pseudonym Andre Norton (her
other pen name is Andrew North), she has also written mystery, fantasy, historical
novels, and westerns. Ms. Norton wrote more than 130 novels, nearly one hundred short
stories, and edited numerous anthologies in the science-fiction, fantasy, mystery,
and western genres, and her work has been translated into eight languages, including
Arabic. She was the first woman to be a Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA)
Grand Master and to be inducted in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She
received Skylark, Balrog, and World Fantasy awards, and was the first woman to win
the Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy award. She was a member of the Women's National
Book Association, Theta Sigma Phi, and encouraged beginning writers with "High Hallack,"
a retreat and research library for writers which she opened and ran from 1999-2004.
The SFWA named an award in her honor, the Andre Norton Award for young adult novels,
first given in 2006.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Alice Mary Norton Papers consist of two accessions which have not been integrated. There are also a small
number of unprocessed additions not reflected in this inventory.

Accession I, acquired in the early 1970s, consists of incoming correspondence, writings, and
printed material, including books and fanzines. Inclusive dates of the material are
1962-1969, with bulk dates of 1967-1969. The material is arranged in three groups.

Correspondence consists of incoming letters, arranged alphabetically by surname of correspondent.
Within each name, letters are arranged chronologically.

Writings constitute the bulk of the collection and includes manuscripts and printed material,
arranged alphabetically by title with all stages of a work arranged together in order
of creation. There is generally only one draft of a manuscript, usually a revised
typescript. Title entries on the shelf list are the published titles. If the book
has not been published, the shelf list title is that of the last draft. Titles of
drafts and foreign editions are given if they are different from the main entry.
The date given for the manuscript is one of three; in descending order of preferences,
it is either 1) composition 2) copyright or 3) publication. The number of folders
is indicated by a number in parentheses following the entry.

Published material includes printed copies of Ms. Norton's books, the manuscripts of which are not in
the collection, and fanzines subscribed to by Ms. Norton. Books are arranged alphabetically
by title with publication information given. Fanzines are arranged alphabetically
by title and chronologically within each title.

Correspondence contains mostly fan mail but also some correspondence from other authors and publishers
including John Jakes, Forrest J. Ackerman, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Isaac
Asimov. Memorabilia consists of one book jacket and one business card. Published material contains the galley of a book by Jane Louise Curry and a pamphlet relating to science
fiction.

The bulk of this accession is Writings, which contains foreign language editions of several books as well as galleys, proofs,
and typescripts for more than 30 of Ms. Norton's books.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence in accession I is separated into general correspondence and correspondence
from authors/publishers; within each subseries it is arranged chronologically. Correspondence
in accession II is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. In both accessions,
Published material and Writings are arranged alphabetically by type and, within that,
alphabetically by title.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require
advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance
concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and
all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from
any
materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has papers of a number of science fiction authors
as well as numerous books, periodicals, fanzines, and other material. For manuscript
collections, please see the SCRC Subject Index
for a complete listing. For additional material, refer to the Classic Catalog
or contact us for further information.